


The Deb Ball

by wingedScribe



Category: Homestuck
Genre: 20s au, Crime Ring AU, Dirk's Life Is Getting Bossed Around By Terrifying Women, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 18:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3579642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedScribe/pseuds/wingedScribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The music is loud, and the people are drunk, and there is a definite sense that a party is going on here. Your name is Dirk Strider, and you’re not here for the party, but that doesn't mean you can’t watch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Deb Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Written for murderandcoffee on tumblr, with the prompt "Dirk/Jake, 20s AU, Secret Relationship."

The music is loud, and the people are drunk, and there is a definite sense that a party is going on here.

Your name is Dirk Strider, and you’re not here for the party, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch. From where you’re standing, you can see Roxy, her feathered hat perched in her hair and her pink skirt sequinned. She’d dolled herself up for the occasion, you know, and you also know that the cake-eater she’s dancing with has no idea that this pink-eyed dame is one of the best bootleggers in all Chicago. 

Near her you also see the lady of the night, Jane Crocker, a debutante beauty according to everyone here. You spare her a glance, but then your eyes catch on her dancing partner. His green eyes meet yours, just for a second, and you feel yourself smile involuntarily. Jake English is a strange bird, always has been; he showed up in Chicago with his sister and a dog and there’d been no word of what their life had been before then, but the pair were no strangers to burning powder, and even the boss said she’d never seen such good shots.

"You’re staring." 

You blink, looking over at Dave, who’s working the bar when he’s not working with you. 

"She’s the deb of the night, it’d be rude not to,” You point out, and you can tell that Dave is rolling his eyes. He knows who you were actually making eyes at, but he won’t say it. 

"Strider, get over there." Another voice says, and you look over at Terezi, who’s jerked a finger in the direction of the back room. When you first met her, you made the mistake of thinking she was just another pretty skirt, but since then you’ve learned that nobody in this speakeasy is what they look like. 

Yourself included. 

You head to the back room, knocking on the door and wondering what on earth she wants now. Meenah Crocker, you’re willing to admit, is completely terrifying. You’d heard of her—everyone in Chicago had probably heard of her—but you hadn’t been expecting the day she walked into your tiny apartment and handed you a job offer. "I hear you two guns need some money," She offered, and that was the beginning of your involvement in this mess.

Now, though, you can tell she’s not happy. She’s dressed to the nines in her signature fushia, her long hair braided behind her, but her eyes are narrow and her teeth gleam in the darkness. 

"Serket’s on our turf again, underselling our liquor." She said, with no preamble. "If that’s not enough, Slick and his bastards are moving again in the North, and those mugs don’t know to leave well enough alone. I’m behind the eight-ball here, Dirk."

You wince. Serket is unstoppable-seeming sometimes, always popping up when you thought her gang was gone for good. You’d heard that the leader had retired, married some john and gone straight. You’d never believed it, of course, and now it’s clear that you were right. As for Slick, that’s no news; he’s been causing you trouble since the day you started working for Meenah and her Pisces Ring. You wait for her to go on, hands tucked in your pockets.

"Get whoever you need together and put the screws on this thing. I want Serket out of here by two weeks ago. If you need sugar, tell me. If you need anything else, deal with it. Scram." She points you out of the office, and you wonder when your life turned into a series of terrifying women telling you what to do. You tell Dave to grab Jade and find Aradia and meet you at the back door in ten. Megido usually is against working with you, but you know that she has a grudge against Serket and you also know that if you want to be able to track down any rats in this city, you need someone like her with you. 

Jake is dancing with Roxy now, you notice as you start to head out, grabbing your coat from where you’d left it and checking to make sure you still had a gun and spare cash on you. It was going to be a long night, you realize with irritation. 

You glance back at the dancers and Jake catches your eyes again. You wonder, not for the first time, how on earth it was fair that someone like him had such bright green eyes. In the back of your head Roxy is teasing you for being stuck on some boy from nowhere, but you ignore that. 

You don’t see how he extracts himself from the dance floor—you’re too busy planning out where you’ll start, whose palms you’ll need to grease, which in men you know Meenah has in Serket’s gang. But he manages to meet you at the back door regardless.

"Word from the big shot, I’ve got to go." You explain, and from the look on his face you know Jake knows that you’re probably going to be gone all night, and for quite a while afterwards.

"Ah," he says, and then he kisses you. You’re safe here, you know—most of the patrons here know about your proclivities anyway, and even if they didn’t you’re blocked by the staircase going upstairs—but you flush anyway. 

"Stay safe," he says, and you grin back at him, meeting his eyes.

"You too. Tell Jane I’m sorry I’m not here for the rest of her big night, and to blame her sister if she’s mad."

Jake laughs and your heart melts a little. Only a little, though. You’ve still got a job to do. 

"Right. I’ll see you soon?"

"Absolutely." You reply, kissing him again before slipping out the door.


End file.
